Unless you live on another planet, you can't have missed the ongoing upheaval on this one. Voices of doom are everywhere, except perhaps the presidential candidates, but that's another story.

The Great Depression was behind us when I was born, but my parents who lived through it talked about it often. It seemed our country had learned its lessons because up to now the economy has been pretty good for our generation, and very good for our children's generation. Because they have only known prosperous times, the kids are now looking to us for reassurance, but we are too uncertain ourselves to be of much help to them.

The possibility that our economy might fall apart for reasons we don't understand, and the possibility that it may damage our lives and our children's lives no matter what we do is scary.

We have no choice, but to adapt. We will learn some lessons, and things will get better eventually.

We have to believe that.